4 August 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Comments

With two school terms behind us and a third one well underway, it has been a busy but rewarding year in so many ways. As educators, it can sometimes be difficult to see the long term picture when one is immersed in the routine of our daily tasks. In an effort to see the “forest through the trees” we often have to look at education from a different perspective.

It must be remembered that education is not a quick fix, but a life-long journey in which the school is just one part of the overall development of the individual. That “part” however, is the goal of every educator – to provide students with a lust for learning that sets their course for a successful and prosperous life.

It must be remembered that all knowledge however, does not just reside with the teacher. As a parent or Home Tutor, you have a huge impact on your child’s learning. It is just not the formal learning that has an impact either. Those things that we do and say around the home every day have an impact too. Every time a child watches us, listens to us and, interacts with us, they are learning in a small way. The adage, “family is the first school our children experience and parents are powerful models” resonates clearly when one views the process in this sense.

To this end, our school can be proud of the manners, compassion, behaviour, sportsmanship and supportive nature of our students. If this is a goal to aspire to, we certainly have a head start.

Andrew Smith
Acting Principal

Deputy Principal’s Comments

It is that time of year again when Education Queensland undertakes the School Opinion Survey to obtain information on important aspects of schooling from parents/caregivers, students and school staff.

Responses are completely confidential. There is no way to link parents or students to the responses provided in the survey. Survey results are reported in ways that individuals cannot be identified.

Students who are randomly selected will be mailed an Online Access Code along with instructions on how to login and complete the Student Survey.

Parents Caregivers who are randomly selected will be contacted directly via an email that will contain login details and instruction for completion of the Parent Survey.

The School Opinion Surveys open on the 31 July 2017 and close on 25 August 2017.

Cameron Burke
Deputy Principal

The DIRT on Year 3

It’s hard to believe we are already part way through Term 3. As always, Year 3 students and teachers have remained as busy as ever with various activities.

This week we had the Charters Towers Show which Year 3 students entered into various categories including the school handwriting and artwork competitions. The teachers are always impressed with the artistic talent of our students. We commend all those who participated and congratulate those who placed in the competitions.

Year 3 students attended the Clermont Outreach in Week 2 and participated in various activities including Drama activities with Year 4. I am sure the talents really shone through and we can’t wait to put the skills learnt to good use

Last term many Year 3 students attended the athletics carnival and for some this was their first time participating in the older carnival. Well done to all students with their behaviour and effort, as seen in the photographs all had a good time. Good luck to those students who will represent the school at the interschool athletics competition.

Last term students studied day and night in their Science unit. Zenada decided to submit her presentation as a news report video. We hope you enjoy the creativity of Zenada and her brother Mickey as much as we did.

Colleen Purdie and Kym Nelson
Year 3 Teachers

Hughenden Outreach

A’HOY ME MATIES!

Wow, what a fun filled week we had at Hughenden Outreach! A huge thank you to the many parent and tutor volunteers who helped make this week such a success.

In the Prep-2 class, we had lots of fun being pirate captains. We learnt a cool pirate song which we performed on our last parade, read funny pirate books, measured the height of our pirate mates and ordered them from shortest to tallest, followed instructions for our treasure hunt and found some awesome things hidden around our building, made pirate jelly, went fishing, decorated fish and swords, counted in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s using shells……we were so busy!

For our Science afternoon our classes combined together to create lava lamps and pocket rockets. It was pretty cool hearing the rockets “pop” and shoot into the sky. Who knew science could be so much fun!?

On Wednesday afternoon, we learnt how to make clay pinch pots. After we had mastered this skill, we went on to make some clay animals. First, we had to draw our design and think about which way we wanted our pots to face. The children did an amazing job creating cows, giraffes, dogs and turtles to name a few. We also cut out some clay in the shape of our hand and practised decorating our masterpieces using just lines.

On Thursday afternoon, we had the pleasure of meeting Nicky who taught us some great exercises for our circuit class. We loved playing Stuck-in-the-Mud as our warm up activity. We were certainly feeling exhausted by the end of her lesson.

Check out some of our student’s reflections below:

Once again, thank you for an amazing week. See you next time.

Miss Weston (Yr 1), Ms Simatis (Yr 2) & Miss Ruthenberg (Yr 5)
Hughenden Outreach Teachers

Student Council

National Tree Planting Day 2017

As part of Australia’s greatest nature care day, the student council of CTSDE planted three native trees in front of the school. One of our school captains Shontel Bickerstaff and helpers travelled in to be part of the planting ceremony.

A big thank you to Brian of Charter Towers Toyota, who sponsored our school with T-shirts, gloves and native trees.

Have you hugged/planted a tree today?

Mauris Venter
Student Council Co-ordinator

Chontel, Sophia, Hugh planting a tree supervised by Clancy and Brian

Education Support Program

Townsville Outreach

On Friday 28 July we travelled up to Townsville for the day to spend some time with our students. Everyone was in very high spirits as we had a chance to catch up and complete some work together in a school setting. It was lovely to see the rapport between teachers and their students, even though some have only met once or twice; what testament to online lessons and how much we can impact each other in such a small window of time. Mr Purdie was able to teach a group of kids at once, it was lovely to hear them all talking and discussing the work together. Mrs Purdie created a wonderful working environment, blasting through assessments with her students. Miss D’Amant was very excited as she was able to meet with some students for the first time and put a face to a voice. Thank you to all the parents for bringing your children in, it was lovely to see you and have a chat too.

Education Support Program Teachers

Year 10 English

Shaking it with Shakespeare

At the mention of ‘Shakespeare’ we often see the eyes rolling, loud sighs of defeat and shoulders slumping. “I can’t understand what they are saying” is cried out and the hands of defeat fly to the heavens. One of the problems, is that reading Shakespeare and watching Shakespeare are two different things. Shakespeare’s plays are meant to be watched and listened to, not read. I am often asked if Shakespeare’s works are relevant in today’s modern age. My answer is always, unequivocally, YES. Shakespeare’s work, while now over 400 years old, is enduring. The works present real human beings in a wide range of emotions and conflicts that transcend their origins of Elizabethan England. His works cross cultural boundaries and the plots focus on humanity and the changes and chances we experience in our lives.

This term, the focus is on the tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Our students are looking at the major themes and messages the play conveys. Love, fate, free will and gender are all aspects that are discussed in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and our students are identifying and analysing the way that Shakespeare conveyed these messages to the audience. Shakespeare was masterful at creating characters that the audience could connect with and want to see them succeed (or not). This is all about positioning the audience. With ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the audience wants the lovers to live happily ever after, but alas, our star crossed lovers are fated for a not so romantic ending.

You would be surprised to discover some of the adaptions of Shakespeare’s work. The ever popular, ‘The Lion King’ is ‘Hamlet’. The movie, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’, starring Heath Ledger, is ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. Surprised? Here are a few more ways that Shakespeare’s legacy is still evident in today’s society: Shakespeare invented over 1700 commonly used words in the English language. Torture, lower, secure, excitement and moonbeam are all accredited to The Bard. Common phrases coined by Shakespeare include: Be-all and end-all; brave new world; break the ice; catch a cold; dead as a doornail; come what may; heart of gold; love is blind; and, own flesh and blood. Even the good old ‘Knock Knock’ jokes are from Shakespeare (Knock Knock! Who’s there – Macbeth).

We trust that our foray into the beautiful world of Shakespeare will be appreciated for the richness it offers its audience. We leave you with one of Shakespeare’s phrases from a monologue out of ‘As You Like It’:

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven stages.

Miss Mroz and Miss North
Senior English Teachers

Year 6

After the mid-year school holidays, the Year 6 students have had a very busy start to Term 3. The first part of term 3 have seen the students studying natural disasters in Science, letters in English and number patterns and prime and composite numbers in Mathematics.

Week 2 of Term 3 saw Mrs Langham head to the Clermont Outreach to teach the Year 6 students. The Year 6 students had a great week at their last Clermont Outreach before they spread their wings and move on to the next step in their lives. We spent the afternoons with the Year 5 students to choreograph a dance to present at our final assembly. It was a great week and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Final photo for Year 6 students at Clermont Outreach

Mr Purdie and Mrs Langham are working hard to plan some fun and exciting things that students should get to experience next Term.

Ben Purdie and Chloe Langham
Year 6 Teachers

Importance of Work Placement

Studying a Vocational Education and Training (VET) subject has many benefits. It provides vocational training, QCE points and an opportunity for students to participate in work placement.

There are many benefits for students who complete work placement. It allows students to apply the theoretical knowledge they have learned in class to practical situations. Students gain valuable work experience which can be used to enhance their resume. It may help to see if a career or industry is what they expected and something they want to pursue. Furthermore, some students have been able to obtain full or part time employment upon completion of their work placement and certificate.

Every VET subject at our school has a work placement requirement. The hours vary depending on the certificate level. Generally, certificate I is 40 hours, certificate II is 80 hours and certificate III is 160 hours.

At CTSDE we understand this can be a bit daunting for some. In order to assist those on work placement, we have removed Collaborate lessons for year 10, 11 and 12 students in week 10 of terms 2 and 3. The purpose of this is to provide students time to complete work placement without missing Collaborate lessons and falling behind in their subjects.

If you would like any additional information, please speak to a VET teacher at our school.

Chris Harrington
VET Teacher

Townsville Annual Japanese Speech Contest

A student from CTSDE and a number of other schools involved in the Languages Program travelled to Townsville recently to participate in the Townsville Japanese Speaking Competition. In total, 15 students from CTSDE, Airville State School, Garbutt State School, Home Hill State School and Osborne State School participated in the Primary Division. They spoke about themselves, their pets and their likes and dislikes in front of a large crowd of people. The students were fortunate to see Japanese Taiko drumming, by St. Patrick’s College and Kendo (Japanese martial art) demonstrated by one of our Japanese teachers, Mr. Nishimoto.

Congratulations to one of our Year 9 CTSDE student’s Brianna Gormley who participated and showed great effort. Brianna is currently studying beginner Japanese with Ms Doi and has been motivated and is now keen to show her Japanese skills!

We also had a number of school based students who participated and received outstanding results:

Year 5 Division

1st place – Kenneth Southwell - Home Hill State School
2nd place – Kiara Mara - Garbutt State School
3rd Place – Krystel Welsh - Garbutt State School

Thank you to the parents for taking the time to travel into Townsville, to give your students a great opportunity to showcase their growing Japanese skills.

CTSDE – Charters Towers Show Display

Woolworths Earn & Learn 2017

This year we will be participating in the Woolworths Earn & Learn Program. Through this program we will be able to get new educational resources for our school/early learning centre – and all we need you to do is shop for your groceries at Woolworths.

From Wednesday 26 July to Tuesday 19 September, we are collecting Woolworths Earn & Learn Stickers. You will get one Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker for every $10 spent (excluding liquor, tobacco and gift cards). Place the Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker onto a Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker Sheet and when it’s complete, the Sticker Sheet can be dropped (or posted) into the Collection Box here at the school or at Charters Towers Woolworths.

At the end of the promotion, we’ll be able to get some great new equipment. The range is extensive and offers lots of items ideal for our students – including resources for Maths, English, Science and some fantastic fun supplies for Arts & Craft, Sport and for our library.

Pay School Invoices through BPOINT

You can now pay school invoices conveniently through BPOINTt online at the link below or over the phone at ph: 1300 631073.

Before you logon or phone BPoint you will need your Biller Code: (1002534), CRN (Customer Reference Number) and Invoice Number which are all located on the bottom of your invoice.

Please read the following information on BPOINT payments.

How to report SPAM and any unsolicited messages

Have you ever wondered what action to take when you receive annoying email SPAM and unsolicited messages. Norris Webb from our Technical Support Team has come up with a handy little information sheet.

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